47Trade mark rights constitute an essential element in the system of undistorted competition which the Treaty is intended to establish and maintain. In such a system, undertakings must be able to attract and retain customers by the quality of their goods or services, which is made possible only by distinctive signs allowing them to be identified (see, inter alia, Case C-10/89 HAG GF [1990] ECR I-3711, paragraph 13, and Case C-517/99 Merz & Krell [2001] ECR I-6959, paragraph 21).
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